The Israeli police internal investigations department has opened an inquiry into Thursday’s incident in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin in which security forces shot two Palestinian men who appeared to be surrendering.
In footage from Palestine TV the men are seen exiting a building surrounded by armed Israeli forces in Jenin, lifting their shirts and lying on the ground in an apparent surrender. The forces then appeared to direct the men back inside the building before opening fire at close range.
Three soldiers from the elite border police Yamam counter-terrorism unit are being investigated.
Islamic Jihad confirmed on Friday that the two men were members of its military wing. The group’s Al-Quds Brigades identified Youssef Asasa (37) as a “field commander” and Mahmoud Abdallah (26) as “one of the fighters” in the group’s local wing in Jenin.
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The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and police said that the “incident is under review by the commanders on the ground, and will be transferred to the relevant authorities for examination.”
The Palestinian Authority (PA) accused Israeli forces of committing a “war crime” and described the killings as “brutal” field executions.
The incident was also condemned by Israeli-Arab parliamentarian Ayman Odeh.
“This is an execution,” he said. “We must not call this an ‘unusual event,’ these are not ‘bad apples’. The death penalty law for Palestinians has not yet been approved, but it has been enforced, for a long time.”
Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he “provides full backing to border police members and IDF fighters who shot at wanted terrorists who came out of a building in Jenin. The fighters acted exactly as expected of them – terrorists must die.”
Thursday’s incident has prompted widespread international condemnation.
“We’re appalled by the brazen killing by Israeli border police of two Palestinian men in Jenin in yet another apparent summary execution,” said the spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Jeremy Laurence.
During Thursday’s operation, a border police unit said it surrounded the building where the suspects had barricaded themselves for several hours, throwing stun grenades and firing at the building before launching shoulder‑fired rockets, causing damage. The two suspects eventually exited the building after a bulldozer destroyed part of the structure.
A border police source said the two men were killed after disobeying the soldiers’ orders.
“At a certain point, one of the terrorists decided to go back inside the building against instructions, and the second terrorist followed him, and therefore both were shot,” the source said.
The raid in Jenin is the latest in a months-long Israeli campaign in the northern West Bank, where it says militant groups operate with impunity in areas where the PA security forces rarely enter.
Israel says its policy of constant military raids is aimed at engaging militants responsible for attacks on soldiers and Jewish settlers and thwarting further militant activity. – Additional Reporting: Reuters
